View full sizeBruce Ely/The OregonianNicolas Batum during Game 1 at Phoenix.TUALATIN — A coy, can't-make-up-my-mind Nicolas Batum said Thursday morning that he will play tonight against the Phoenix Suns in Game 3 of the Trail Blazers' best-of-seven playoff series.

In an interview session with reporters after a morning shootaround at the Blazers' practice facility, Batum initially said he did not know if he would play because his strained right shoulder was still causing him pain.

But midway through the interview, Batum did a 180-degree turnaround and said he was a go against the Suns.

"For sure I'm going to play," Batum said. "It's going to be tough, but I can do it."

Batum injured his right shoulder at the end of the third quarter of Game 2 when he and Steve Nash collided while going for a loose ball. Batum did not return to the game and underwent a magnetic resonance imaging test Wednesday morning, which did not reveal significant damage.

At shootaround on Thursday, Batum wore a form-fitting sleeve around his right shoulder and attempted his first shots — free throws — since Game 3. Officially, coach Nate McMillan said, Batum is a gametime decision.

Initially, Batum confirmed that prognosis, saying, "I really don't know yet. I will see tonight," regarding his playing status. But through the course of answering questions about his injury and eagerness to play, Batum slipped in that he was willing and ready to play through the pain.

"I know I can play with it," he said, "but it will be tough. Very tough."

When told he was contradicting himself, a smiling Batum finally conceded that his intention was to play, prompting a round of laughter from reporters. Perhaps it was peer pressure from the reporters.

"You make me pressure," he said, smiling. "I have to play for you."

In all seriousness, Batum does have concerns. His ability to fight through screens and absorb physical contact on his balky shoulder is at the top of the list, but there also questions about shooting. He did not attempt shots beyond the free throw line at shootaround.

"I could shoot left handed maybe," Batum joked near the end of his interview.

Batum also acknowledged that he is worried about causing significant damage to a shoulder that he had surgery on in October.

But these concerns are not enough to keep the second-year small forward out of the lineup tonight — or so it seems anyway.